Meteor Flurry!
by Yuli Ban
Summary: During the Z fighters' darkest hour, a new face appears on the battlefield. [Takes place during the Saiyan Saga, stop asking about super saiyans vs super forms]
1. Arrival From Another Dimension

**A/N**: Welp, just to clarify, this story is a spin-off/movie/whatever of my other story, _"Sonic: Evil Reborn Zero_." I figured that I'm aping Dragon Ball Z so much in that story, propping Sonic characters up with DBZ-esque powers, that I might as well do a crossover proper. SERZ Sonic with Saiyan Saga DBZ. _Meteor Flurry! _takes place between Episodes 21 and 22 of SERZ. Of course, think of it in a Dragon Ball Z manner: it wouldn't actually fit if you tried to place it in canon.

_Enjoy!_

* * *

><p>"Hmm? Hold on, there is <em>definitely <em>something heading in this direction. And it's not just one- I'm picking up _several_ _more _power levels," Vegeta suddenly says, turning off into the opposite direction. This causes everyone to gasp, with snaps of shock ripping through the beaten Z-Fighters.

"Huh?" Nappa then turns all the way around as well. "So you're telling me these rats have more friends on the way?"

Vegeta scowls, then smirks as his red scouter fully analyzes all of the signals. He kicks up a small rock and begins tossing and catching it with his left hand. "Nothing to worry about." With a bit of a cocky laugh, he goes on to say, "Most of them aren't even topping five hundred. Only one is at _their _level, and it's only fifteen hundred."

Nappa howls with laughter. "You rejects! If _that's_ the most you can bring, that alone should be reason enough to kill you all!" he adds on with brutal sadism.

Piccolo, however, turns to Krillin with a puzzled man's look. "Wait a minute, but who else..."

Krillin replies, "Huh, I guess more people were training to fight the Saiyans than we thought." Then he's overcome with dread. "You don't think..." he begins, shuttering at the thought. "You don't think that's _G-Goku_, d-do you?"

"Urgg..." Piccolo growls. "Fifteen hundred... We'd better hope not. If Goku's been keeping us waiting this long only to come with such a pitiful power level..." If Namekian could turn any more green, the color would be overflowing off of him. He knows it's best to just keep it out of his mind. _Goku... If that's really you, then please tell me you have a trick up your sleeve. If fifteen hundred is as weak as they claim it is, then you'd just be throwing your second chance at life away. _

"W-well?" Gohan shivers. Even he understands, at this point, that a power level of 1,500 won't do them any more good than they already have. "Is it my daddy?"

Piccolo throws his head to side, grunting a bit before speaking his response. "It can _only _be him. There's no one else on the planet other than us that knew in advance that the Saiyans would be here. But that other one said that there were _several_ power levels, so maybe he brought some special kind of help."

"_**Hahahahaha!**_" Vegeta cackles, still tossing and catching the stone. "You're so used to fighting on the terms of this miserable planet that your Namek mind just can't fully come to grasp our power." The stone hits the ground with a kick of dust. "Nappa, when these 'uninvited guests' show up," Vegeta crushes the rock with a swift jab of his boot. His next words are low toned full of malice. "_Make sure they never touch the ground in one piece_."

"Heh heh! I like the sound'a that!" Nappa super accelerates towards Piccolo, his clenched hand capable of impaling the dark hero. Piccolo hadn't even fully registered Nappa's sentence, and he doesn't even have a great deal of time to dodge or block or even _move_. It all seems to be the end of the line for him when...

"_Chaos... ConTROL!_" Saliva and blood shoots out of Nappa's mouth as a red-on-black leg nearly shatters the top of his spinal cord. He lumbers forward, mere meters from Piccolo, giving the three remaining Z fighters enough time to zoom off into the air. Vegeta silently growls as he sees what is _**definitely**_ a disturbing sight.

Shadow the Hedgehog, standing alongside a group of the legendary, if non-existent Sonic heroes, has entered the fight.

"What's this?" exclaims the Saiyan prince. He throws out his arm imperiously and screams with palpable rage at the nonsense he's witnessing. "_Woodland beasts? Now we're fighting common woodland rodents? __**What **__kind of farce is__** this?**_" Piccolo, Gohan, and Krillin look on in a fusion of surprise, bewilderment, and sizable dismay. If Yamcha, Tien, or Ciaotzu were still alive, they would feel the exact same way.

"Uh, guys, just tell me point blank. _**Am I losing my mind or did I just see a **__**hedgehog**__** land the best blow to that monster all day?**_" Krillin shouts.

"So we're not too late..." Shadow mutters in his perpetual depressive low tone.

"It can talk!" Krillin adds on, voice waving in pure awe. Piccolo looks on, dumbfounded and barely able to fully comprehend what he's seeing.

"Nappa! I thought I said not to let them land!" Vegeta barks.

"S-s-sorry, Vegeta! They came in too fast for me!"

"Hmph. No matter. Just see to it that you skin these animals," Vegeta grimly replies, arms folded.

"Heh heh heh!" Nappa sadistically chuckles. "Guess what, ya litter' critters! Guess what good ole' Nappa's gonna do to ya!_ I'll mount you on my wall!_" As soon as 'I'll' comes out of his mouth, Nappa super accels towards Shadow, easily pushing mach one.

Shadow raises his scarlet red, pulsating Chaos Emerald. "Chaos _Control!_" comes out of his mouth. The mystical gem obeys, and time splits from space, flowing slower than a microscopic snail. As Nappa's hammer of a fist comes down, he swats thin air, nearly breaking a hole in the atmosphere.

"Uh!" He looks up. Standing half of a mile away is the ebony on crimson hedgehog.

Vegeta looks on in astonishment, mouth agape. He could just barely follow Shadow's movements. _It's as if he was moving at the speed of light_, Vegeta thinks. _What-what is this?_

"Sonic," Shadow shouts from the distance. "Give me your light speed shoes' ability enhancer." The azure hedgehog replies. From his red sneakers, he detaches a special blue crystal. He lobs the upgrade to his rival. Shadow catches with militaristic movements.

Vegeta eyes those that have come with Shadow- Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles 'Tails' Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Blaze the Cat, and Rouge the Bat.

"Let me take a wild guess- those teddy bears over there are your friends?" The Saiyan prince can't believe he's really conversing with a hedgehog, nor does he believe it replies. Arms folded, Shadow remains unmoved.

"You call them teddy bears as if they're only good for looking cute, but the truth is we've dealt with beings fifty times stronger than you before..." Shadow's eyes fly open as he snickers once, "and _won._" Vegeta subtly growls under his breath, not appreciating this smack his taking one bit. Nappa is far less patient.

"You. The one with all the make up on your- your... _whatever _those things are on your head. What's your name?" Vegeta demands to know.

"My name is Shadow. Shadow the Hedgehog." Immortal words, as always.


	2. Major Powers

"Hey, Vegeta! Whaddya say you read me these stuffed animals' their power levels so I'm not too disappointed when I eat the raw meat off their bones!" Nappa calls out.

Vegeta's happy and eager to oblige. He reactivates his scouter and turns his attention to Shadow's friends first. Standing ahead of them all is Sonic the Hedgehog.

"The blue one's is 454." He looks towards Tails and Knuckles. "The tiny failed dog over there is only 125. That red carpet or whatever it is has a power level of 852." Next to them are Amy, Blaze, and Rouge. "The pink rat is 310. That overdressed dog thing is at 515. And the bat-eared ape in the back has a level of 322." At last, he turns his attention back to Shadow. "So that can only mean that this black and red rat must have had the power level of 1,500. I'm right."

Shadow immediately notices Vegeta's calculating and pugnacious nature by his face alone. He knows that when he's finished with Nappa, he shouldn't be too sure that he can defeat Vegeta as quickly.

"For a second there, I actually expected a fight out of you. All'a you added up isn't even close to my power!" Nappa cackles. The juggernaut of a Saiyan steps forward, crushing the rock under his feet. "Huh huh huh... Shouldn't have expected anything more from a bunch of dolls." His malevolent eyes pass over the group of heroes. "Let's see... which one of you should I gobble up first?"

"Stand ready, guys," Sonic warns his friends. They all crouch a bit and prepare for any surprise attacks Nappa might throw at them.

"Hmm!" Vegeta's scouter picks up something. "The blue rat's power level just surged to over 910. And the red one's jumped to 1,600... and the purple one is only 400 shy from the red's. And that pink hedgehog thing is even higher than the blue's..." He scratches his chin, trying to figure this out. _Perhaps __**they**__ possess the same ability as the Namekian's and his friends' to hide their true power levels._

"Oh, you like that. Don't worry," Shadow laughs in a battle-ready tone. "I can do it too." Nappa stands in a fighting pose, his fist raised in front of him and already beginning to glow with amber energy.

"I'm game. I was getting kinda tired beating up on these losers." Shadow's eyes move in the direction of the Z Fighters, standing on the opposite side of the battlefield.

Shadow's arms gradually bend at the elbows and his hands close into fists. He stiffens and goes into a slight crouch while his head hangs down and his eyelids fall quickly. A second or two passes, and as they do, a small gust of wind eases by like a referee to a wrestling match.

With a loud grunt, Shadow's body jumps a bit. A small gale of wind erupts from him, brushing back only hair and a few blades of grass.

Vegeta's scouter then picks up the difference immediately, although his facial expression remains one of intense uninterest.

Shadow's elbows bend further back as he prepares to lash for Nappa. The aforementioned Saiyan grins with delight, not even budging.

"Hm?" The scouter rings up Shadow's total power. "Ah! His power level's... _over 3000!_"

"Huh?" Nappa turns towards Vegeta, paying no attention to his opponent. _**Bang!**_His muscular wrist stops an incoming punch. Another swipe knocks his head to the side. Shadow breaks the ground as he jumps for Nappa with another punch. It hits the man's chin, throwing him several feet into the air. With a leap, Shadow front flips, clasps his hands together, and brings his fists down on Nappa's face, loose saliva and blood flying with every other hit.

The mighty Saiyan hits the ground with a thunderous _crash_. Shadow drops down, fist first. Nappa responds faster than he, using his hands to throw himself away as his enemy's hand shatters the rock layer. The ebony hedgehog immediately follows. The two meet in midair and begin exchanging a hyper-fast flurry of punches and kicks faster than the human eye can comprehend.

The two seem to disappear as attacks collide, the energy from the clashes exploding.

"I can't even see them!" Gohan shouts.

"Me neither," Krillin replies, just as stunned as his friend. He takes a look at the colorful motley crew brought by Shadow. _Those guys aren't even worried! Either they don't know how strong this bulldozer is or they have some trick up their sleeves..._

Sonic looks on in confidence, while Piccolo is still getting a five from adding two and two together. But the fact someone is standing up to this brute is one he won't complain about. Any help is accepted.


	3. Intense Conflict

Feet dig into the ground like drills as Shadow, sticking a landing, takes a blow from Nappa. His head tilts up almost enough to catch the Saiyan plow to Earth and drive his hammer fist into the hedgehog's gut.

He feels weightless until the king called gravity commanded that he return under its rule. He flips backwards and skids sharply, flinging pebbles and dust into the air.

Grim Reaper-like in his gait, Nappa is coming back to test the limits of his true strength. A sadistic grin sprouted on his face, he eyes Shadow with unbreakable commitment to see the hedgehog broken and dead.

Shadow's arms droop slightly as he returns the Saiyan's death grin.

"You're somewhat amazing. Twice my base power and you're still stronger than me," Shadow admits, panting ever so slightly.

"Flattering won't save you now, you dwarfed freak. I'm still gonna eatcha after I break off your arms and legs!" Nappa 'politely' responds.

Shadow relaxes his muscles. His body loosens whatever tightening it had. His head turns down.

Nappa chuckles a bit, Vegeta in tandem.

"Fifteen hundred once again."

"Ga! What- What just happened?" the torn and beaten Krillin gasps, Gohan and Piccolo both concerned by what they're seeing.

"I think he's losing!" Gohan cries. "And it looked like he was winning too!"

"Darn it... his energy just dropped off by the same amount it gained," a stunned Piccolo adds. "That's it. It's over." Gohan and Krillin gasp in horror at his words as they turn towards him.

Sonic, sealed ears disengaged to their cries, lies back on the grass, his hands pretzeled under his head.

"You ready to die, hedgepig?" Nappa throws.

"It's funny how you Saiyans think you know the limits of my power." A rolling silver aura breathes off of the hedgehog's skin and fur, smoke-like in its elegance, but opaque and glowing. Vegeta's grin collapses into a frown upon the sight hitting his eyes. Head still hanging, he goes on, "I think you should know that I've been toying with you this whole time."

"What?" Vegeta mutters.

"Enough meowing, hedgehog!" Nappa speeds for him. "Just die already!"

His arm retracts behind his head as he winds up for the kill. At the right distance, his fist is thrown. A loud smash. The hand is caught.

"I hope it will please you to know that I haven't even begun warming up! Two times my power is only the tip of the iceberg!" The wavy aura explodes, beams of energy shooting straight into the sky. With a war cry, Shadow begins going beyond his earlier power.

As he charges up, the earth begins to shake. First tiny pebbles defy gravity as they float into the air, but are quickly paled by larger stones and rocks. Even the stable ground itself breaks into pieces.

"Arhg! 4,000...5..." The Saiyan prince's scouter beeps. "6! _**NAPPA, WATCH OUT! ITS POWER LEVEL HAS REACHED SIX THOUSAND!**_"

The Saiyan has no time to react. A kick to the face propels him hundreds of meters away in a few short seconds. As he backflips and puts his hand to the ground to slow himself down, Nappa is abruptly headbutted, a sharp blow to his gut immediately following. Before he can half over in pain, Shadow jabs his elbow in the brute's back.

"Ah!" All three Z-Fighters gasp.

"What-what just happened? I thought you said that Saiyan beat this guy!" Krillin asks Piccolo.

"Somehow, this Shadow character just quadrupled his power, and Nappa doesn't have the strength to fight back. And something tells me Shadow is just warming up."

"So...So you're saying we may not even need my dad to beat these guys?" Gohan replies, cheering up.

"Aw yeah! Those Saiyans are about to get what's coming to them!"

"Don't be too sure," Piccolo depresses. "Nappa may not be able to fight him, but that one over there." Piccolo nudges his head towards Vegeta. The prince is sitting on a jutting, dwarf karst rock, arms folded in disdain. "Considering how the big one follows his orders like a loyal dog, I can only assume his power makes Nappa's look like a joke. For all we know, even Goku may not even be able to beat _him_. Either Shadow's on his level, or we're still not out of the woods."

"Don't worry!" Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan immediately look over to Sonic. The azure hedgehog is twiddling the only surviving sunflower in the vicinity. "Shadow can take care of this, no sweat."

Krillin asks, "Say, shouldn't you guys be out there helping your friend?"

"_Naw_. We came 'ere to watch." The flower is flicked out of his hand. "Shadow can go _fifteen_ times his base power. Just watch."

"_Ah! Fifteen?_"

"Restrained. When he takes off those rings on his wrist, _whoo-whee!_ Man, oh, man, that bulldozer could take down an entire planet if he had to. But give him a Chaos Emerald, and all bets are off."

Nappa tries to block another strike, losing Shadow as the svelte hedgehog slips behind him, grabs him under the armpits, and folds him back. The crimson-on-ebony hedgehog then hits the ground and uses both feet to kick the saiyan into the sky.

_**Down**_ comes Nappa when Shadow uses two clenched fists to send him back to Earth.

"_Chaos... Saber!_" A golden spear of light appears in his gloved hand. He grabs it with both, then comes down for Nappa. The saiyan hasn't even looked up by this point when the sword of pure, golden energy is slashed across his face. A small amount of blood shoots from his cheek. A kick to his chest throws him back towards Vegeta.

"Darn it...it's over eight thousand now-..no, it's over _nine_ thousand... now... ten! Ten thousand!"

Shadow's knee hits Nappa's stomach like a meteor to Earth. A fountain of blood and saliva comes from the muscular saiyan's mouth.

"Did...did you just say this r-rat's p-p-power level is over ten thousand?" Nappa strains to say, blood trickling out of his nose, eyes, and mouth.

"Don't worry. I can get even stronger!" a cocky Shadow announces. "I'm only using half my restrained power as we speak." This stuns even Vegeta.

"_What? That's impossible! Especially for a hedgehog,_" the noble saiyan explodes.

"Heh heh heh...You'll find out soon enough, Vegeta." Now Vegeta knows he has not told Shadow his name, so he's shocked to learn he knows so well.

"_Who are you? Did-Did Frieza send you?_"

"That's a possibility." The hedgehog immediately blunders and speaks the real truth. "Actually, we only know you as some cartoon character."

"Cartoon? _SO_ _YOU THINK I'M A CARTOON, HUH?_"

Upon seeing Vegeta's rage, Shadow concocts a new scheme. "Heh. You've always taken things way too seriously. Lord Frieza knows you're here, Vegeta, and he knows why. He's not the happiest guy in the universe, if you get where I'm coming from." Both Vegeta and Nappa are subtly growling.

"Frieza? Who's that?" Gohan mutters.

"He's some bad guy you face down the road, about fourty or so episodes from now," Sonic says out loud.

"What the- we're not in some cartoon you know."

"Yeah, I know. Just making it sound cooler."

_Really, our lives aren't that interesting that someone needs to make a show about it _Krillin thinks in his head.

"So what if Frieza's having a bad hair day. That idiot can throw as many temper tantrums as he'd like. When I wish for immortality, I'll actually _welcome_ any beating he gives me. It'll all just be one step closer to me becoming a _super saiyan._"

"Y-you? What about _me?_" Nappa asks, slightly confounded. For his remark, Vegeta blow him away in a massive energy attack.

"So quick to act. But nothing I wouldn't expect from a filthy saiyan."

"You... You watch your mouth!"

"No need. Frieza's on his way here."


	4. Break For Strategy

"_Ha!_ Don't try to fool me with your pathetic mind games, rodent. If Frieza were really on his way here, don't you think my scouter would have picked up the spike in energy by now?" Vegeta retorts. "That tyrant keeps his power level steady at half a million; even bottom of the line, low-class scouters could pick that up from millions of miles away."

Shadow's grin turns. True, he had completely forgotten that not all the Saiyan's scouters are the same, and also some monsters' powers are so tremendous, quality doesn't even matter. And on top of that, he notices something that completely catches him off guard...

"OK, you got me. But what does it matter?" The hedgehog breaks into a fighting stance. Then he flashes something in his hand.

"Hm?"

Damn it, I can't believe how much I slipped up. They'll have to get over me doing this just this one time, but it must be done.

In Shadow's other hand, another glimmering object appears.

"_Chaos Control!_" Electricity dances around Shadow, convulsing and contorting until the sphere of blue and white envelopes the entire area, including Vegeta, the Sonic heroes, and the Z fighters.

"What is this?" Vegeta barks. _Crash. __**Crash**__. __**Crash, Boom**_. Electricity arcs and flies as a sphere, space and time itself warped into the shape of a sphere, expands. At first, it's inches an hour.

"What's... happening?" Gohan cries out, eyes clamped shut, hands slightly over both. The Sonic heroes also cover their own eyes, but are visibly nowhere near as tense as the other, Chaos-ignorant warriors.

"I don't know, but whatever it is, something big's gonna happen!" Krillin replies, shielding his own eyes with his forearm, as with Piccolo. At that moment, the sphere bursts outwards, faster than a blink.

For an answer to their cries, the landscape is remade.

Feet dig into the ground like drills as Shadow, sticking a landing, takes a blow from Nappa. His head tilts up almost enough to catch the Saiyan plow to Earth and drive his hammer fist into the hedgehog's gut.

He feels weightless until the king called gravity commanded that he return under its rule. He flips backwards and skids sharply, flinging pebbles and dust into the air.

Grim Reaper-like in his gait, Nappa is coming back to test the limits of his true strength. A sadistic grin sprouted on his face, he eyes Shadow with unbreakable commitment to see the hedgehog broken and dead.

Shadow's arms droop slightly as he returns the Saiyan's death grin with, instead, a scowl.

"It worked... Heh." The hedgehog throws his comrades a deep glare.

"Wait, wait, wait, wh-why is he looking at us?" Krillin asks. "Is he trying to tell one of us to jump in or something?"

"Nah!" The Z fighters look Tails's way. "Shadow just reset time is all."

"_**WHAT?**_" is the collective gasp of the three warriors.

"I guess he must have done something he didn't want to." Tails's manner falsely makes it seem like he and his kind actually remember why Shadow hit the proverbial reset button.

"B-but... _That's impossible!_" Krillin cries.

"What kind of trickery are you trying to pull on us, huh?" Piccolo adds. Only Gohan falls out of his state of stupor soon enough to begin to realize they may be telling the truth.

"Hello."

"_AGGH!_" Krillin falls over onto his behind, completely taken by surprise by Shadow. He stands, hand holding his shoulder, in front of his face.

"Hey, who toldja you could-"

"**Quiet, Nappa!** _Let _them get their bearings. From the looks of it, it _obviously_ won't matter."Nappa growls, breathing like a demon at his prince's words, turning his head towards him, then back to Shadow. Finally, he controls himself and relaxes.

With two chuckling laughs, he then says, "Man, Vegeta! You always gotta take the fun outta everything!"

"Oh don't worry! I'll let you have 'fun' when I decide its time for them to die."

"Darn it, we can't waste anymore time! _Please_ tell me you have some sorta trick up your sleeve!" Krillin begs Shadow.

"Heh... You, don't worry about me." Now all Krillin, Piccolo, and Gohan see is Shadow's quills and highlights. He nods his head in a horizontal direction, signaling for Sonic to follow him. His counterpart obeys.

Behind a nearby standing karst tower...

"Whatsup, Shads?"

"We might be here longer than I expected. That Time Reset technique drained too much chronos Chaos energy, and without the Master Emerald, they-they won't be recharged for_ very_ long periods of time."

"How long?"

"At _least _until they go to Namek. At _most_, when the Androids arrive."

"_Thr...Three years? Yer jackin' to me that we might hafta stay here for __**three years?**_"

"More than that, remember? Huh... From where the timeline now stands, the androids don't arrive for another four and a half."

"Aw _man!_"

"Stop frowning, clown. We _could _have had to stay until Majin Buu arrives, but if I remember correctly, I also said 'until they go to Namek!' It depends on how quickly I can end this battle."

"And why didn't you end it the first time around?" Sonic interrogates, tone degenerating.

"Vegeta destroyed Nappa before I could." Shadow's tone is one of quiet embarrassment, married by the fact that he turns away, eyes closed, and fists on his hips. "I had intended on using the shock and awe method, but I pushed my power too far with too few atmospheric effects. Then I dealt with Nappa too quickly.

"So, in other words...you _failed_ too much!" Sonic laughs, only to be dealt a fist to his gut.

"Look, the whole purpose of this mission," Shadow begins, head down, "was to gain the same ability the Z-fighters possess. Don't forget that _he_ said that there's a way to do it, but that the only way in our universe would be decades upon decades of training." Sonic rolls over, still clutching his abdomen. "In this world, they would know how to learn it in mere months. Of course, should something happen, there's no way for us to correct it."

"Darn it, I _knew_ we shoulda brought the Master Emerald..." With a gasp, he uses his knee to bring himself to his feet. Then he grunts and falls onto his back. Panting, he continues, "And we... and we only brought enou- enough reserve energy for you and... me to go individually Hyper _twice_, that's nowhere _near_ enough..."

"Nappa somehow damaged the original Light Speed Shoes, and on top of that, I also numbed my arm just trying to keep up with him. I honestly didn't expect him to have the skills he possesses." Shadow lets out a low chuckle. "Silver was right when he said our level of television isn't a good enough medium to judge anything about a person." Pulling himself together, Sonic gets to his feet. The two hedgehogs put their heads together for a moment. Finally, Sonic speaks up.

"Hey, you think, maybe, and this is a long shot, that when onea these guys goes Super Saiyan, they could give us enough energy to cross back through virtual dimensions?" Shadow's arms are folded as he spits to the side, eyes closed in minor disdain.

"I could have sworn that boy told you this already. It's one thing to traverse between two realities. The energy and space-time manipulation involved to cross between a reality universe and an entirely fantasy universe would require infinite energy, and none of these warriors, even if fused and at the peaks of their powers down the line, could ever possess _infinite _energy. Even if they could, they would have to release it uninterrupted until we'd have all passed through. That's why we could never bring the Master Emerald in the first place."

"_Ohhh! _Yeah, that makes sense."

"But I overestimated the Chaos Emerald's natural chronos energy reserves. Without the Master Emerald to continually keep them in equilibrium, they won't be able to keep up their energy. They'll need extended periods of time to recharge."

"Weeeell.. We _could_ always ask Blaze if we could use her spare Sol Emera-"

"Except that _I_ **can't** _use_ the Sol Emeralds."

"But Me, Blaze, and Cream _can!_" Sonic then cheerfully says, jumping in front of his emo doppelganger.

"Remember your place, clown!" Shadow returns, pointing at Sonic. "But whatever the pace now, it looks as if we can't avoid fighting Frieza."

"But... wait, if we kill Nappa and Vegeta, and keep Piccolo alive, then they'll be no reason to _go_ to Namek! And that's just without Goku being..."


	5. Let The Fight Continue

"What're those two yakkin' about?"

"I don't know, Krillin, I can't even hear them from here. Can you, Piccolo?" All Gohan and Krillin receive for an answer is a continually worried look on Piccolo's face.

"Alright, that makes sense," Sonic finally answers in a loud enough voice for them all to hear. "Go attem, Shads!"

Vegeta's scouter recalculates Shadow's power level.

"Hm, that's odd. For a moment, it bottomed out at 1,500, then it shot up and remained at 3,000." Nappa turns to him, grinning like a child being told he's going to a candy store.

"So? I can stop anything that has a power of _3,000, _no sweat."

"But it's when one's power reaches _four_ thousand that you have to stay on your guard, oaf! I don't buy this rat's illusion one bit." Vegeta is visibly shaken in his own way by this paradigm shattering fight. In no respect did he ever-

"All right, I'm ready for you." Shadow jumps onto the green top of a karst tower surrounded by the faintest of mists. He X's his arms, covering his muzzle. "This time, I won't let you get off as easily as you did." Breaking his X'd arms is the sudden shock of sensing...

"What the..." Vegeta's scouter is going off once more. "There's _another_ power level, and this one... this one is registering at _5,000!_"

"_**What?**_" Nappa screams, showing off all his teeth as he growls in rage.

"Nappa, I'm letting you off the leash! Destroy them all, now!"

"But what about the Namekian? I thought we-"

"Don't worry about it! If my gut instinct is right, then we don't have to worry about losing the Dragon Balls on this planet! Now, annihilate them all!"

Nappa begins a crazed snicker, eyes becoming bloodshot, as he stares down the Z-fighters, the Sonic heroes, and Shadow.

"Do you feel that?" Piccolo lowly asks to Krillin and Gohan. "Whatever it is, it's even got the Saiyans on edge."

"Darn it, it's_ Goku!_" Sonic shouts out, audible enough for them all to hear. This news rips through the Z-fighters.

"D-did he just say _Goku_? _Our Goku?_" Krillin mutters, completely surprised.

"He wasn't supposed to be back from Other World this soon, was he?"

"He _is_, Sonic. We landed in the episode before Piccolo sacrificed himself," Tails corrects. "Shadow and Nappa fought, and then you two spent a good five minutes talking. Don't you remember that in this world, five minutes can last ten episodes?"

"So that means Shadow's just stalling for time," Knuckles adds. "Is that part of his plan?"

"Uh uh," Rouge then replies. "Shadow wants to mop up the floor with these monkeys by himself." All of their fur goes flying into the side of their faces when Sonic speeds away from the battle.

"_Agh!_" Vegeta and Nappa gasps. They both look in the direction of the long, snaking blue streak following Sonic.

"Wait, how'd he!-.." Nappa is at a loss for words.

Vegeta is still left looking on, dumbstruck.

_Goku... Right on schedule._ Shadow then X's over his arms once more. _That's right, Sonic. Just keep him busy._

"Urrrrg..." The same silver aura from early begins rolling off of Shadow once more. "Rrr**rregh!**" He glows a silver-rainbow color for but a split second, and then the aura expands, truly becoming an aura, fully red, fire-like in its manner. Shadow himself gains the crimson tint of the aura. "Heh... strange how similar my Chaos Boost transformation is to Goku's Kaioken technique..."

Now all heads look to Shadow. The aura around him continues expanding, all the while the top of the rock tower reacts to his excessive energy as large pebbles and small stones, then, incrementally, larger and larger stones, begin defying gravity.

"Great, _now_ what?"

"That hedgehog... What is it doing?" Piccolo demands. The ground begins shaking, throwing each and every person, save Vegeta, off balance, as the influence of Shadow's energy expands.

_I have to push my power to...stay... right HERE!_

"_AaaaaAAAAGGGHH!" __**BAM!**_The entire karst structure implodes!

A gale of wind blows past all the spectators. After ten seconds, it all calms down. Shadow, jet shoes keeping him hovering in mid air, is surrounded by a true-to-form crimson Dragon Ball Z aura.

"Humph! Six thousand. All that for a power level of six thousand."

"_W-wait! Ve-vegeta! That's not good for __**me**__!_"Nappa reminds him.

"Ready for round 2, Saiyan?" He darts for Nappa.


	6. Intense Conflict Indent

_**BANG**_, Nappa spits blood before getting sent through the ingrained karst. Shadow's fist brings him down headfirst. The Saiyan's body breaks the ground into a crater before he's picked up and twirled around. Now he's in the air, on the ground. A karate chop hand shatters his abs. With a bounce, he rolls over. Kick! A second stream of blood mixed with spit shoots from his mouth.

"_Ahhh!_" Nappa extends his arms and stops his flight, a gale coming from his body as a release of energy. Bloodshot to the iris, his eyes nearly pop out of his head. "_Yooou raaaaaaat!_" He screams, losing sanity, as grungy bands of sharp-yellow ki erupts around his left hand.

An earthquake forces the Z-fighters to stumble.

"Ah...what...what _is_ this?" Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan all struggle to even stand. Gohan falls to his feet, and Krillin falls onto his butt, Piccolo being the only one with enough balance. Sonic leans on a rock twice his size, unconcerned and even arguably smug.

"The whole planet's shaking!" a petrified Gohan adds. Pebbles and rocks alike crack and break mid-air as electricity laps through them.

"Nappa, calm yourself!" Vegeta barks. "That's _far_ too much energy for you to control!" His scouter keeps beeping in new power levels. Two are generated, one aimed at Nappa, which gets progressively weaker, while the ball of ki in his hand registers in new digits.

Nappa's roar echoes across the wasteland. No longer do his eyes hold irises. Veins cross into-

"Is this how you Saiyan show off your intelligence?" Shadow smackingly jokes.

-**nothing.**

"_**Reeeahh!**_" The convulsing ball plows forward, ripping the ground beneath and the air around it.

"Hmm." Shadow grins.

"Get down!" Piccolo pushes Gohan and Krillin to the ground. Vegeta growls, displeased by the events.

**BAM!** The shine from the explosion overtakes the entire wasteland. Smoke blows into the heavens. For miles, destruction reigns.


	7. Master of Reality

Nappa spits blood, unable to wipe the rush from his chin before falling. Every pair of living eyes are set upon Shadow.

"D-did you see that?" Krillin gasps.

Gohan struggles to say, "No.."

"Exactly... Piccolo, what about you?" Nothing. "Piccolo?" The Namekian is growling as he tries to explain what his eyes just witnessed.

Finally he claims, "He must be moving faster than light itself."

Sonic chuckles. "_Now_ things are getting fun!"

Nappa forces his fists in the ground and pushes himself to his feet. Shadow stares him down, scowling. _This battle __**can't**__ last much longer. There's no way this Saiyan could be that durable. And if he is...___Shadow puts his fist in his hand. _Then I'll send him straight to Hell!_

"You're dead!" Nappa rushes to his feet and charges for Shadow. Smirk. Eyes close.

"_Chaos_..." Sonic's mouth rips-off Shadow's. "_Control!_"

"_Ah!_" Vegeta, Piccolo, Krillin, and Gohan all gasp before they **stop.** Their expressions are glued to their faces. Statues they appear to be. Shadow runs to Nappa and plows his fist across the saiyan's face. No response. _Bang!_ Shadow drives his fist into Nappa's bloody abs. A golden spark of electricity explodes into twenty when he plants a frozen Chaos Spear in the juggernaut's face. With a backflip, he finishes the job.

"Let There Be Time-"

"_**Auugh!**_" Nappa disappears in a wall of flame. A hurricane gust fires all around.

The smoke clears.

"It's gone!" Piccolo calls out. "The saiyan's energy!"

"I-I can't feel it anymore!" Krillin gasps. "That means Shadow really..."

Vegeta clicks his scouter. "Zero." He clicks again, and the symbols disappear. "He's dead." Then he sneers. _I underestimated that rat! But at __**least **__I have a feel for its power._ Now he chuckles. Vegeta raises his arm just as Shadow turns towards him. Piccolo grabs Krillin and Gohan and dashes off. A massive violet wave of energy carves out a gulch in the Earth. Shadow watches this from above, landing several meters away. Behind him, a mushroom cloud rises in front of the horizon.

_18,000. His power level stands at 18,000. Hm, so __**that's**__ what an 18,000 power level can do._

"Jeez, Shadow's right! TV can't do _squat _about stuff!" Sonic groans. Tails turns to him and asks.

"What's wrong?"

"That Vegeta guy's totally hair-out strong!"

"So you're saying Shadow might not _win?_" Tails cries.

"Hey, I trust the guy, but..." all Sonic's increasingly worried eyes pay attention to is the imploding chasm in front of him. "Those Saiyan are really something else!"

"Kinda sad that Nappa can't get a break," Rouge sighs. She points to where the fallen Saiyan general had been. Had.

"Does Vegeta _hate_ him or something?" Knuckles snidely replies.

Shadow stands with the grinning Vegeta in his eyes.

"You surprised me, rat. So your power's _slightly_ above what I expected."

"Slightly? Ha! I know your monkey brain is scrambled because you thought I couldn't go higher than three thousand."

"Hmm?" Vegeta is taken aback. "You dare to mock **me**, rat?" Electricity dances up Shadow's arms. Vegeta copies him.

"Oh I can do more than that!"

"Shadow, you need help with'im?" Sonic calls out.

"Trust me. I have this well under control." The power crystals of his light speed shoes glare in the sunlight, the Ancient Light kept safe inside. His Inhibitor Rings are safely on his wrist. _That's 10,000, plus another 5,000 for the Ancient Light. Hmm hmm hmm! Vegeta doesn't stand a chance!_

"Goku's getting closer," Tails to Knuckles over his shoulder, "so Shadow's got to do something before he screws up canon. If my simulation was correct, Goku's gonna try to wrest control of the battle away from Shadow if nothing's done."

"And that would tick Shadow off a lot," Knuckles replies. "But how strong is Shadow, really?"

"He should be strong enough to face off with and surpass Vegeta," Blaze then says, walking up to him, "but if Vegeta is able to transform..."

"_Theeeen _we might be in a bit 'a trouble," Sonic adds.


	8. Prelude To Hell

"Let's go."

"Hm?" Shadow pokes his thumb at the sky. The first thing Vegeta does is look up before realizing the expression.

"There's a lagoon just north of here. I figured it would be a better place for us than this wasted place."

"Whatever you say, rat. I was never a proponent of animal burial, but _this_ will be a special occasion made just for you." Shadow stares back at the chasm, eye twitching twice.

_Nappa's body's gone. The energy to do that, especially for someone with such concentrated stores of energy... Truly __**the**__ last time we use something as pointless and blank as television to judge anything. _Shadow's jet shoes blare out, lifting the hedgehog off the ground. Vegeta doesn't need such technology as he follows him. The prince's ki explodes as he blasts off to the north, chasing Shadow.

"Sonic, you said you'd stop Goku. What happened?" Tails asks. Sonic chuckles and shrugs with an embarrassed grin.

"Ran the wrong way!"

"So you ran all the way back _here_ instead of..." Amy begins, to Sonic's running off.

* * *

><p>They speed over a variety of landscapes. Whole forests whiz under them just as do more canyons- one being the badlands that Goku and Vegeta were to fight in. Eventually, Shadow chooses to conserve his jet shoes' fuel and brings himself down to the ground. This comes to Vegeta's attention quickly, who is stunned to notice the hedgehog actually moving <em>faster<em> on the ground rather than in the air. They arrive in what's known as the **Varu Badlands**

On the land side, no trees are or can be grown here. Other than an occasional patch of green every few square miles, everything is a dirty, earthen brown. Ravines cut through some stretches, directly alongside a grand canyon digging over a mile into the earth- one spot in the canyon goes far deeper, in which all light seems to disappear into. Meanwhile, organic-shapen micro-plateaus and ridges jut into the air. On many different planes, however, towering plateaus reach high into the clouds of heaven. Digging into the rocks are a subterranean spider web of caves and underground springs. Near the shore, everything protrudes from the small sea.

A full 300 years without a single drop of rain save over the lagoon- where all of the clouds seem to magically end their journey- has meant that much of the ground here is cracked deeply, as much as a quarter mile in some widened spots, and the only greenery can be found near far-by oases.

Shadow stands level with Vegeta on a cragtop. Both of them stand erect with their arms folded. Around Shadow is a wispy golden aura; for Vegeta, a blocky, thick, and sharp violet battle aura rages.

"It's been bothering me, rat. How could a rodent from a trash planet such as this know of Frieza?"

"Does that really matter to you, Saiyan?" First part of the reply, Vegeta snickers before laughing.

"So perhaps you were simply bluffing? Because I have an offer for you." _This again? Why do the depraved always make these? If they're willing to annihilate entire races and planets for power alone, who would be gullible enough to think they would share it?_

"Any why should I say yes?" Shadow bluntly returns.

"Because I know of a way to dethrone Frieza! If you join me, together we could rule the universe!" "And here I thought you were a bitter square." _He wants me as a new right-hand man? Bah. He knows I'm holding back. He's just testing me. Perhaps he thinks that I could wear down Frieza and when we're both drained, Vegeta will come in, destroying us both. He's an imbecile if he thinks I couldn't figure that out. _"**No.**"

That's when Vegeta crouches like a tiger. "That's all I needed to hear."

Piccolo is the first to fly up to the new battle site, with Krillin and Gohan lagging behind by twice a few seconds. _This is it! For the first time, we'll see their true powers._ He looks at Shadow. _Why is he keeping his energy so low? Unless..._

"I wonder if he's trying to get the Saiyan off guard," Krillin theorizes. "The big guy got crushed 'cause _he_ didn't know Shadow could power up that high. But Vegeta... He knows, so he might be expecting this.

_Fifteen hundred? What is that black rodent trying to pull? He brought his power up to six thousand with obvious stores left in him. Does he really think I wasn't going to figure this out?_

"Listen, rat! I won't hold punches, so you had better bring your power to its limit.

"Darn it... If my power level isn't enough to hold one of his att-" _Whap! _In one blow, Shadow goes flying through karst after karst- six in total- before hitting the distant grounds. Dust becomes a monstrous cloud as it rises from the swath of destruction.

* * *

><p>Goku is elsewhere, still on the way on the Nimbus when he finally comes to focus.<p>

_Something's wrong... One of the two huge powers just went blank, and another dropped off dramatically! Maybe they did it. Maybe the killed one of the Saiyans, but_... _that other power wasn't like the others. It was too small. AH! Gohan!_

"Yo!" Sonic is keeping pace with the Nimbus the whole way through, and repeating calls out for Goku by name. After a few more tries, Goku realizes he exists and looks down. As he does, the whole Nimbus disintegrates as Sonic blasts through it. Goku, not expecting this, falls straight down to Earth, hitting the ground on his back with a thud.

"Ah... Jeez! What was that for?" Sonic points to him, prompting Goku to look confused. He looks left and right a few times before pointing back to himself. "Me?"

"Yeah, you. C'mon, let's go, man!" Initially, Goku is even more confused than before.

"I'm sorry, mister, don't have time for this!" he states in his usual innocent tone. When Sonic stands his ground, his arching eyes turn as he realizes Sonic's serious. Thus, he says this with far more _umpth_, "I said I don't have time for this!" _Wait. The only Saiyan we know are me and Raditz! But what if... maybe... _

_Could this hedgehog be a Saiyan too?_

"C'mon! Hit me with all you got." Goku chuckles as he rushes forward. He throws his fist, then lets his arms hand hands dance in high speed, finally getting a strike on Sonic's elbow. When he realizes not one punch actually struck, he becomes impressed. "Wow, you're pretty _fast!_"

"Yeah, I get it a lo-" **BAAING! **Sonic flies straight into the ground head first. It takes him a second to get his bearings again. "Ah! What the heck was!..." Goku loses his serious expression for a moment.

"Uh... sorry, I thought we were still fighting! You had way too many open spots so I just... attacked!" Sonic can't help but chuckle along with him, admiring the man's positive behavior. He could really befriend this guy...

* * *

><p>Vegeta laughs when Shadow doesn't get up immediately. Then he stops and stands still. Shadow's been standing behind him this whole time, unscathed! Their backs face each other, both standing on the same platform.<p>

"So you're not just a normal hedgehog, are you?" All things are silent. No birds sings. No frog croaks. No wave splashes. No wind blows. Not even a molecule floats. It's perfection ready to die in a fire of hatred.


	9. Shadow vs Vegeta The Showdown Begins

Vegeta snaps to focus and charges forth; Shadow ducks. Under him, Shadow throws his fist, but he's faster! Before the hedgehog can pull back, Vegeta's shoe smacks him off the karst top. Rebalancing midair, Shadow is stunned when Vegeta blasts away the footing he had been falling towards. Instead, he free falls through a hail of rocks and smoke. Shadow forges a small ball of invisible energy to stop his descent, blowing out a hole in the surface of the water. A wave of vapor blows across the surface just as Vegeta comes down, the edge of his boot just barely touching the water. A jet shoots up as he blasts forward.

Two fists hit his chin, then his chest before the prince balances himself and throws a swiping right hook across Shadow's face. The hedgehog skips across the pond for a half a mile, a mile, two miles. Blood drips off Vegeta's nose.

"What the..." As he wipes away the blood, his mind becomes jumbled. _When did he land a blow on my face? And my arm. My armor's been ripped! He hadn't touched me but twice._ "G..Grrrgg..." He jumps back. In his hand dances a violet ball of fire, flames lapping around the orb glaring white and purple. "How dare you spill the blood..." And he _throws!_ The toss shakes the whole landscape, the energy ball mushrooming in size. "_OF A SAIYAN ELITE!_"

It whistles down to the impact. Everything is vaporized in a flash, and a second quake throws off a wall of water. _Buo-SLAM_! Shadow stops himself well below the surface of the water, his attack failed. Vegeta turns around and stares at this new jet of water far detached from the explosion in the distance.

"Pathetic, rodent. Pathetic." Once again he folds his arms as he looks down at the imploding water jet as it crashes back down into itself. He slides out of the way when a yellow bolt flies past him. "And with a power level of fifteen hundred, I'm not surprised. Now show me your true power." The top of Shadow's head- from the nose up- surfaces as he stares down Vegeta.

"There's no way he can beat him like this," Piccolo laments. The Namekian clenches his fists nearly to the point his fingers break the skin. "To think we put our fate in the hands of a hedgehog!"

"You mean, you-you think he won't make it?"

"You guys are _sooo_ dark." All three gasp and aboutface. Rouge speaks again, "Shadow's just playing. Trust me, the second he has big bad spike head Vegeta figured out, all the gloves'll be off." The ground suddenly quakes fiercely. "And by the looks of it, the party's already getting started!" Gales blow strong, and the blue sky is broken by a small halo of clouds orbiting around the battle field.

"Ah! I can't even stand!" Gohan cries out, falling off his feet every time. Krillin tries to help him but fares no better. Piccolo looks back off into the lagoon, then gasps out loud when he sees a whole waterfall "falling" into the sky.

"_**Chaos...**_" Shadow screams. He's pulled himself in, and his golden aura has expanded exponentially. All of the water for several meters around him has bowled inwards.

"His power level's spiking. It's at ten thousand, no twelve... fourteen!" Vegeta growls as it nears his own. "Now it's over _sixteen thousand!_" _Blast! Shadow rushes for him- _Vegeta's irises fade for a nanosecond. "Ah!" _Slam!_ He's held by his neck against a cliff face.

"_**Blaaaast!**_"

B

OO

OOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

O

O

OOOOOOO

O

O

O

O

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

But it didn't work, the freak slipped away! Vegeta comes rushing back through the clouds in an opaque flame of deep purple, and, shoulder first, rams down Shadow. He pulls his two hands together and comes down, sending Shadow straight to Earth. The hedgehog busts through the dust cloud, bouncing off a green rock before hitting the ground prone.

"You want to see a _real_ display of power?" He seethes and curls himself in. Shadow stumbles as he forces himself to a stop, grabbing hold of a rock but being pulverized by waves.

"Great... I should've known this would happen." _What good is all this power if Vegeta has me outclassed in combat? I can't take him in straight hand-to-hand combat- he's too skilled. Darn it, I need a new strategy._

Black clouds suddenly roll in and any gale Shadow had created before is dwarfed. Whole mountains break apart and their remains slither into the sky.

"_Ah! Ahh! Ah!_ Th-this is crazy! This isn't happening!" Krillin panics, stuck on a massive boulder sent skyward. Gohan yells out too, also riding a floating boulder.

"This is insanity!" Piccolo screams as the entire plateau shatters into thousands of large pieces. Cyan cracks and bolts of electricity scream through the air as, above them, an equally cyan orb of energy repeatedly flickers around Vegeta.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Rouge moans, struggling to stand herself. "They were _right _to be pessimistic!" A column of earth bolts into the sky, followed by several more and several more from that.

"How can _anyone_ be this strong?" Knuckles adds, shielding his face with his large mitten. "And this is only the first season!"

Shadow stands his ground on a rocky beach, repeatedly pounded by evergrowing waves. He X's his arms over his face, but sneaks a few sights. He sees that a deep golden aura filled with like-colored electricity has surrounded Vegeta. Both of his eyes are empty. Actually, he nearly panics for a second, confusing this for a super saiyan. But right now, it means the same. A typhoon of wind blows Shadow out of the water, lifting him up in the air by several inches. Gradually, Vegeta's irises return. There's nothing Shadow can do.

"_**YAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!**_" Everything turns to white. Shadow hits a crag face before its blown away. Everyone shields their eyes but loses their footing, the blinding flash growing brighter. All the black clods are blown away in a quickly expanding halo. For the first time since they hastily made the choice to come here, the Sonic heroes- and Shadow with them- begin to feel that this is a battle they may just not win.


	10. Intense Conflict Indent 2

Shadow readjusts himself before jumping to the sky. Midair, he thinks. _That was too great a shock. I hoped it didn't have to come to this so soon, but I have to use Chaos Boost __**now. **_His feet hit the cracked earth. One of his inhibitor rings has spider-like cracks running across it.

"Are you beginning to realize how fruitless this battle really is, rodent?" Vegeta comes forward him. This is it, it begins! Shadow dodges a meteor flurry of brutal attacks, letting his palms, elbows, arms, and knees take and absorb every impact. He can't see everything Vegeta does nor does he try to. Shadow throws his body around as fast as he can before finally throwing his own blind shower of blows. Fists connect to fist, and the two warriors push each other back. Vegeta clotheslines Shadow, twists around, and sends him off with a knee to the hedgehog's gut. In time, Shadow skids to a stop on his feet. Behind him!

"Augh!" Shadow falls forwards then frontflips. Again, he must block and dodge another stream of attacks, barely able to get a single punch in. Again, a strike to his chest throws him off. He grabs a shrug and swings up and over.

"Take that!" Shadow hears when he looks up. A purple wave of ki rushes down for him. It explodes, taking the cliff with it. Shadow materializes behind Vegeta, who twists instantly and stops his punch. Vegeta picks his whole body up, grabbing only Shadow's fist, and slams him into, through the ground. _**SMASH!**_ Vegeta drills his fist into the rock, Shadow having only just rolled away. In shock, Vegeta catches a balled Shadow whirring in his hands. Shadow's attacks spits off wave after wave of sparks before Vegeta picks him up and plows his fist 'cross his face, sending him back to the ground. Once again Shadow's hands save him and he lands with a roll. While rising to a stand, he wipes his mouth with his wrist.

Out of nowhere, he's hit with an uppercut! Vegeta grabs him by the top of his hand and forces him back to the earth with a _crash._

"Die rat! Galick Gun, FIRE!" Shadow firmly in his clutches, Vegeta blasts him with a galick gun at point-blank range. The Saiyan uses the lift to fly backwards, stopping with a hover. He pants heavily before laughing, mixing the two for a moment. Below him, the explosion turns to smoke. "I warned you... _not_ to mess with a super elite! I'm Prince Vegeta, the strongest saiyan in the universe! And you. You're just a rat!"

"Wrong."

"Urrgggrrrg!" Vegeta's bloodshot eyes follow the man's turn. Standing there, behind him, is Shadow the Hedgehog, body erect and arms sitting powerfully by his side.

"My name is Shadow. _Shadow the Hedgehog, the Ultimate Life form!_" Every mote of dust blows away in a rush as a crimson aura explodes around him. His whole being turns red. Ripples of earth orbit and rise around him as a burst of wind blows away.

"Ow wow! I didn't know King Kai taught him the Kaioken technique too!" Goku laughs, sitting Indian style floating upside down.

"Goku, no idea what you just said, b-" Krillin turns out, lips quivering. "G-G-Goku?" Goku's floating on the underbelly of the Flying Nimbus. Sonic lays on top.

"Dad, you're back!" Gohan jumps into his arms , weeping while Goku consoles him.

"Sonic, I thought you said-"

"I can't stop _this _bulldozer, Tails! Whodaya think I am, Goku?"


	11. Intense Conflict: Beam Struggle 1

_SWING!_ Shadow's crimson hand swipes across Vegeta's face and tosses him back. He wipes the blood away from his cheek and attempts a growl, but bends over and falls to his knees, Shadow's foot planted well into his abdomen. A cough, two coughs, and a spit of blood follow. Taken aback, Vegeta slips off the top of the crag and holds on only by the edge of his fingers. Footsteps approach, and he screams when Shadow's shoe comes down on his fingers.  
>"Oh wow, so brutal," Rouge comments. "He must be angry."<br>Tails replies, "I don't think we've seen anything yet."  
>Goku says, "I felt your friends' strength all the way from Kami's place. He's just as strong as the saiyan, isn't he?" to the Sonic heroes. Several of them smile as a response.<br>Knuckles responds with a more confident, "Just as? I bet Shadow's loads stronger than Vegeta! He's just playing arou—"  
>"<em>Aaaaaaaaaaaaauuuuuuuuggggghhhhhhh!<em>"** POW!** Shadow takes a blow to his face strong enough to knock away a tooth. Crash! He hits the ground with earthquaking force. A cloud shoots over the rocks and mountains— no, the rocks and mountains crumble and tumble themselves. Vegeta floats in midair, panting, blood forking at his mouth, but his mouth is wide. "Nice trick, rodent. Unfortunately for you, I've faced something just like it before!"  
>The Sonic heroes and Z-Fighters all gasp in tandem.<br>Knuckles stammers, "Ah... I thought he was playing around!"  
>Hands over her cheeks, Amy cries, "Shadow should be stronger than this! What's going on!"<br>Blaze scoffs and replies, "Of course, we should have known." All listen in. "We based their powers on what we saw, not what we felt." All of them reflect upon this, that perhaps watching television and guesstimating the power of a superpowered kung-fu fighting alien who can bust planets isn't the wisest of actions. "Though I was sure Shadow would have picked up on this."  
>Krillin also stammers, saying, "W-wait! You're saying you don't think he can win?"<br>Piccolo answers, "They're saying he can, but it won't be as easy as they thought. Open your ears." Goku also shows visible signs of concern, his son long following his lead.  
>But Goku is more sure than the rest and says, "Don't worry. I didn't train for nothing. If anything happens to your friend, I'll take over for him in a flash." Sonic throws him a wink and a thumbs up and Goku does the same for him.<p>

* * *

><p>The dust cloud has already faded, and the hedgehog within the crater has made motions to stand. One hand on his knee, push himself up, stand, pant, pant, pant. Brush off his shoulders. Gulp... Gulp? He coughs and rubs his mouth. There it is, in his palm, at least an ounce of his blood.<br>"Dammit..." Up above him, Vegeta gloats. Time to wipe away that smirk. His jet shoes flare, and he floats up to Vegeta's level. Again, his wipes his mouth, throwing his arm all the way to the side. Shadow looks over at the other heroes and nods. Sonic replies with his own nod. Now must be the time. He takes a power ring. Vegeta watches on, intrigued but unimpressed.  
>"What is that, rodent? Planning to marry me?" He laughs and continues, his grin cocksure and strong, "Or is that supposed to be one of your ridiculous power ups?" Shadow's grin kills Vegeta's.<br>Voice heavy and with tinges of bloodlust, he replies, "This is just the tip of the iceberg, saiyan!" He rips the ring in half. It dissolves in his hands. Its remains sprinkle down to the earth. As they drizzle upon the ground, a whole field of ring cylinders pop like popcorn. 20, no 40! All holding up to 50 rings each! Vegeta's arms unlock and he gasps upon this sight, completely unsure of what he's seeing. Shadow bolts downwards like a lightning bolt and collects each one.  
>"This should be well more than enough for one..." After this reflection, he glares Vegeta's way and shouts, "I happen to be a fan of your Galick Gun." He lifts his arms to the heavens and slowly lets his eyes close. "Ever since first watching this technique of yours, I've always been interested..." His eyes fly open "In trying it out myself!"<br>"Ah!" Vegeta pulls his body in and prepares for an energy wave. Thinking he has time to create his own, he charges his own energy. "_So you like my attack, huh?! __**Then here, have another one!**_"  
>Electricity spits away from Shadow's hands as a heat dome builds above his body. "It'll be my pleasure, you saiyan bastard!" The energy now almost out of control, he throws his hands forward. The whole of the earth around his body lifts into the air, cracking for half of a mile. Lightning explodes as their respective energies meet. Gales blow off for miles.<br>"They're putting out enough energy to destroy the planet!" Piccolo warns. "If Shadow isn't careful, either one of them could kill us all!" The ground beneath their feet breaks apart. Sonic watches, shielding his eyes, without his grin.  
>"Hit the deck!" Krillin shouts.<p>

_"Chaos Destruction Wave!_"  
>"<em>GALLICK GUN!<em>" They throw their attacks.


	12. The Final Strike

The beams war against each other as equals, vomiting electricity across the landscape.

"_No! His beam is as strong as my gallick gun!_" Vegeta clenches all muscles and puts out so much energy, his skin becomes violet. "_I won't lose to a rat!_" The wave thickens.

Pressure pramells Shadow. His shoes dig into and shatter the ground as he's buried beneath an aura of raw power.

His power.

"_Chaos…_"

In that moment, Sonic's eyes flare.

"No! He can't!"

"He wouldn't!" Rouge adds.

"_Control!_" He disappears. His wave disappears. The gallick gun and Vegeta disappear.

The dust settles.

"W-what happened? Is it over?" That's Yajirobe, peeking from behind a karst, blinking half stunned at the sudden calm and rain of debris.

"Oh wow." Sonic takes his arms away from his face. "Really scared me for a sec." He realizes the Z warriors are curious and turns to them. "He can use a technique called Chaos Control that slows time, and he can move nearly at light speed. If he made the wrong move, Vegeta's attack woulda blown us all to smithereens. But it looks like he took Vegeta with 'im."

Krillin says, "So… where _did _they go?"

Sonic shrugs and grunts, "I dunno." He looks around, casually at first but then in shock. "What the…"

"Daddy?"

* * *

><p>Goku floats above the two extreme warriors, already over his abrupt change in location. The beam struggle continues, but Vegeta's disoriented.<p>

"Goku! Hit him with a Kamehameha at your highest Kaioken!" A nod is the reply. Goku draws himself in and unleashes a crimson ki aura.

"_Kaioken times two!_"

"No, four! You have to use a kaioken times four!" To Shadow's expectation, Goku didn't respond. King Kai was in the saiyan's head, telling him to ignore the hedgehog and not disobey his own orders. Yet Goku seemed more and more convinced to act.

Then it happened. Shadow felt the surge of energy.

"Kaioken times four!"

Vegeta didn't even see it coming.

"_**HAAAAA!**_" The heat, the force, the power of the turtle destruction wave broke his back. Crushed between two beams, Vegeta disappears in a heavy explosion that rattles the planet from pole to pole.

Vegeta dies.

Both crimson warriors clasp hands in victory.

* * *

><p>"You do know you've doomed them all, right?"<p>

"Shut up, Sonic."

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note<strong>: Hello, dear readers! Sorry for such an abrupt ending, but the story was three times as long as I originally planned for it to be and was beginning to get repetitive. Looking back, I have no clue why I had Shadow reset time. Maybe that's because _I had him do it_ rather than just letting him do what he would do? And then it was just 6 or so chapters of Shadow and Vegeta punching, kicking, and screaming.

_Just like Dragon Ball Z._

The sheer amount of WTFery that was beginning to go on was seriously getting on my nerves.

This goddamn fanfic is my most successful ever. Why and how, I think I know- there are only a handful of Sonic/DBZ fics. Despite this, they all get absurdly high numbers of readers. While there is a generally sizeable market for this sort of thing, it's doubled up by the fact that so few new x-overs pop up, which means that a particular story will remain on the first page- perhaps even the top of the first page- for weeks at a time.

So there you go. You want free readers and reviews? Write a Sonic/DBZ crossover. And I say 'free' because you obviously don't need any semblance of talent to do it. Look at my own story- "before the king that was gravity commanded him down?" WTF! Just have Super Sonic and Super Shadow and Super Silver fight Super Saiyan Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks and you're done. Throw in Broly for a few more favorites.

That's actually a good idea, hold on… Yes, I'm a morally bankrupt arseknob who's insulting you and putting down himself. We live in a post-grunge age where the only thing that matters anymore is cynicism, explosions, and raw ass jokes. What did you think?

Anyway, as for the weird ending, I already tried to end the story several times. Truth be told, they all didn't come out right. One even had Goku kick away Shadow for no reason so he and Vegeta could fight. Another went that Shadow lied that Frieza was coming to scare Vegeta into escaping. A third had them wind up going to Namek to fight Frieza, and that was about 500 chapters long, 500 chapters of a story I'm obviously uninterested in writing.

They were all wrong; from the start, I wanted it so that Shadow would be overwhelmed by Vegeta but win in the end. This was never meant to be a curb stomp.

Lastly, thank you to all who've read. No really, thanks. All 11,000 of you.

W00t! Second ever fully completed fan fiction!

Don't think too much about which was my first.


End file.
